This is so neat. I had never heard this before. This is beautiful - and it is surely worth making the 5 finger prayer a part of our lives.
1. Your thumb is nearest you. So begin your prayers by praying for those closest to you. They are the easiest to remember. To pray for our loved ones is, as C. S. Lewis once said, a 'sweet duty.'
2. The next finger is the pointi ng finger. Pray for those who teach, instruct and heal. This includes teachers, doctors, and ministers. They need support and wisdom in pointing others in the right direction. Keep them in your prayers.
3. The next finger is the tallest finger. It reminds us of our leaders. Pray for the president, leaders in business and industry, and administrators. These people shape our na t ion and guide public opinion. They need God's guidance.
4. The fourth finger is our ring finger. Surprising to many is the fact that this is our weakest finger, as any piano teacher will testify. It should remind us to pray for those who are weak, in trouble or in pain. They need your prayers day and night; you cannot pray too much for them.
5. And lastly comes our little finger - the smallest finger of all which is where we should place ourselves in relation to God and others. As the Bible says, 'The least shall be the greatest among you.' Your pinkie should remind you to pray for yourself. By the time you have prayed for the other four groups, your own needs will be put into proper perspective and you will be able to pray for yourself more effectively.
THIS IS ONE OF THE NICEST AND MOST BEAUTIFUL USES OF THE ALPHABET THAT I HAVE EVER SEEN. I HOPE YOU ENJOY IT AS MUCH AS I DID. HAVE A GOOD DAY! Whoever came up with this one must have had some divine guidance, I was impressed!
A-lthough things are not perfect
B-ecause of trial or pain
C-ontinue in thanksgiving
D-o not begin to blame
E-ven when the times are hard
F-ierce winds are bound to blow
G-od is forever able
H-old on to what you know
I-magine life without His love
J-oy would cease to be
K-eep thanking Him for all the things
L-ove imparts to thee
M-ove out of "Camp Complaining"
N-o weapon that is known
O-n earth can yield the power
P-raise can do alone
Q-uit looking at the future
R-edeem the time at hand
S-tart every day with worship
T-o "thank" is a command
U-ntil we see Him coming
V-ictorious in the sky
W-e'll run the race with gratitude
X-alting God most high
Y-es, there'll be good times & yes some will be bad, but...
Z-ion waits in glory...where none are ever sad!
I AM Too blessed to be stressed!"
The shortest distance between a problem and a solution is the distance between your knees and the floor.
The one who kneels to the Lord can stand up to anything.
Love and peace be with you forever, Amen.
With thanks to Phyllis Page
Monday, December 17
Feeder church or body church????
1 Corinthians 12:12(AMP) "For just as the body is a unity and yet has many parts, and all the parts, though many, form [only] one body, so it is with Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One)."
A friend and I met over the weekend and God solidified His plans for me to depart the current home church I haven't really been attending lately to reach out into a direction that He would have me go. Whether it becomes something more than simply a lateral movement into another church of deeper depth or not, well, that is in God's hands. As it always has been.
But, in talking about departures, my friend made mention that leaving one church for another doesn't change the fact that we are still in the same family. And this verse came up in the course of my devotions today, via Worthy News. The Body of Christ, such a strong and yet, misused, phrase. Many pastors, ministers, or priests will use this generic term specifically, to refer to their congregations and their denominations, rather than referring to the entire body, regardless that proscribe to the declaration that Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth, and the Light……
Unfortunately, this tunnel vision seems to affect more than just the leadership's ownership of the congregation….and the buildings in which they meet. It becomes more focused, and less clear, in the circles surrounding the leaders, those Senior, Lead, Founding, etc… Pastors/Ministers/Priests. There, the people who surround the Pastorship are too often "YES" people….either afraid to express their God-given talents in ways that are contrary to the Pastorship or simply of one mind and in tune with the Pastorship's vision….a deadly combination in any circumstance. Such 'teams' become known by the lead characteristic, i.e. the Pastorship, and thus difuse their effectiveness in the body of Christ. You know, like the "A" team (which consists of Athletes and Artists) which creates a church that is dynamic in its delivery of the Gospel, but weak in the message contained……
It's like someone gathering all the 'hand' personalities and talents and expecting some to preform as feet….. It's like someone expecting a bunch of toes to function as a head…. And so on….
Such configurations ultimately lead to implosion, as various like members rebel against the role they've been forced to play and seek greater enjoyment in the role they were meant to perform. And the Mega church, known for its phenom growth, becomes nothing more than a feeder church, where the parts of the body realize their true roles, and leave to fulfill them in a body that is unified.
Where, as George from Worthy Ministries says so succinctly, "Each member of the body is important and can minister to the other members of the body."
And the feeder church becomes something less than what it was, as one piece that is taken from the body becomes obvious, because the effectiveness of the mission has been compromised and weakened. Like the guppy tanks at your local pet store, they don't become anything other than guppies, no matter their size.
As George says, "Just as when one piece is missing from a puzzle, its absence is very obvious and damages the picture, so also is the whole weakened when we are absent from the body of Messiah"
Are you in a feeder church or a body church?
A friend and I met over the weekend and God solidified His plans for me to depart the current home church I haven't really been attending lately to reach out into a direction that He would have me go. Whether it becomes something more than simply a lateral movement into another church of deeper depth or not, well, that is in God's hands. As it always has been.
But, in talking about departures, my friend made mention that leaving one church for another doesn't change the fact that we are still in the same family. And this verse came up in the course of my devotions today, via Worthy News. The Body of Christ, such a strong and yet, misused, phrase. Many pastors, ministers, or priests will use this generic term specifically, to refer to their congregations and their denominations, rather than referring to the entire body, regardless that proscribe to the declaration that Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth, and the Light……
Unfortunately, this tunnel vision seems to affect more than just the leadership's ownership of the congregation….and the buildings in which they meet. It becomes more focused, and less clear, in the circles surrounding the leaders, those Senior, Lead, Founding, etc… Pastors/Ministers/Priests. There, the people who surround the Pastorship are too often "YES" people….either afraid to express their God-given talents in ways that are contrary to the Pastorship or simply of one mind and in tune with the Pastorship's vision….a deadly combination in any circumstance. Such 'teams' become known by the lead characteristic, i.e. the Pastorship, and thus difuse their effectiveness in the body of Christ. You know, like the "A" team (which consists of Athletes and Artists) which creates a church that is dynamic in its delivery of the Gospel, but weak in the message contained……
It's like someone gathering all the 'hand' personalities and talents and expecting some to preform as feet….. It's like someone expecting a bunch of toes to function as a head…. And so on….
Such configurations ultimately lead to implosion, as various like members rebel against the role they've been forced to play and seek greater enjoyment in the role they were meant to perform. And the Mega church, known for its phenom growth, becomes nothing more than a feeder church, where the parts of the body realize their true roles, and leave to fulfill them in a body that is unified.
Where, as George from Worthy Ministries says so succinctly, "Each member of the body is important and can minister to the other members of the body."
And the feeder church becomes something less than what it was, as one piece that is taken from the body becomes obvious, because the effectiveness of the mission has been compromised and weakened. Like the guppy tanks at your local pet store, they don't become anything other than guppies, no matter their size.
As George says, "Just as when one piece is missing from a puzzle, its absence is very obvious and damages the picture, so also is the whole weakened when we are absent from the body of Messiah"
Are you in a feeder church or a body church?
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